Tractor driving among kentucky farm youth: results from the farm family health and hazard surveillance project

This article documents the extent of children's involvement in tractor operations among a representative sample of Kentucky children living and working on family farms. Specifically, we describe children's exposures to tractor-related work activities, profile their use of the tractor (number of days worked), and assess compliance with generally recommended safety measures, such as using tractors equipped with ROPS (rollover protective structures), avoiding riding as passengers on tractors, and operating tractors on public roadways. Data for this study were collected in 1994 and 1995 as part of the NIOSH-sponsored Farm Family Health and Hazard Surveillance Project (FFHHSP). Despite recognition in the health and safety community of the hazards associated with operating tractors without ROPS on public roadways and with extra riders, these practices remain common among youth on Kentucky farms. Farms with annual incomes greater than $10,000, particularly with livestock commodities, appear to use youth for a greater number of days of tractor operation than other farms. Such farms may be an appropriate target for intervention.     

Farmers' perceptions and concerns: the risks of driving farm vehicles on rural roadways in North Carolina

This study focuses on farmers' perceptions of roadway safety and reviews specific and pertinent North Carolina rural road crash data to evaluate their perceptions and concerns. A survey was mailed to 1,357 prospective participants throughout North Carolina. Of these, 656 (48.3%) North Carolina farmers completed and returned the survey. The study revealed that while the majority of respondents took a number of specific safety measures to ensure their safety while driving their tractor on rural roads, most believed that driving their tractor on rural roads was more dangerous than it was five years ago. Few respondents believed that laws governing tractors on rural roads are well known by urban residents. While a majority of the respondents would support a law to mandate the use of a slow-moving vehicle (SMV) emblem on the back of slow-moving farm equipment, a majority also believed that a more effective way to mitigate potential crashes would be to ensure that all farm vehicles had blinking or flashing lights, that diamond-shaped caution signs depicting a tractor were posted on roadways with frequent tractor traffic, and that roadway shoulders were created or widened on roads with heavy farm traffic so that tractors could move off the roadway. Only 22% of respondents felt safe driving their tractor on rural roadways in North Carolina. Most respondents felt that the biggest problem with roadway safety was the lack of respect and increased speed of other drivers. Recent data indicate that in crashes involving farm vehicles, citations were issued to 34% of the non-farm vehicle operators and 24% to farm vehicle operators. For those driving non-farm vehicle who were deemed at fault, 66% were cited for failure to reduce speed. For those driving farm vehicles, the most frequent citation involved the lack of safe movement.     

基于"门槛-供需"耦合视角的县域农村生活可达性评价

在乡村振兴背景下，农村生活设施布局优化对乡村发展、农村居民幸福感提升具有重要意义。针对农村可达性研究中评价对象与视角单一等问题，考虑四类生活设施，采用"面向服务需求的等时线分析方法"与改进的"两步移动搜索法"，从"门槛"与"供需"角度分析高安市农村生活可达性的空间分布特征，进而提出一种基于耦合视角的可达性分区模式，并探讨农村生活可达性的驱动机制与优化路径。结果表明：1）从最低时间成本来看，农村学前教育、大病就医、物流快递、文体活动均存在较大障碍，城乡发展的不均衡现象显著。2）从供需关系来看，教育资源与人口形成相对平衡的区域供需关系。部分乡镇中心医疗设施供给高于城区，商业与文体的供给普遍具有明显的城镇偏向性。3）基于"门槛-供需"耦合视角的农村可达性分区将高安市按四类设施分为高门槛-低供给、高门槛-高供给、低门槛-低供给、低门槛-高供给四种可达区和不可达区。农村生活可达性受空间阻抗与供需关系的影响，可从空间关系调整、生活设施与道路建设、生活服务服务要素流动三方面进行优化。研究可为县域农村生活设施、农村居民点的布局优化提供借鉴和参考。     

领导重视和科学规划是建设生态农业县的前提与保障——以湖北省生态农业试点县建设为例

通过全国生态农业试点县建设项目的实施，湖北省京山县、宜城市和洪湖市取得了阶段性的成果，积累了丰富的生态农业建设经验，领导重视和科学规划是建设生态农业县的前提与保障。     

安泽县城乡建设用地结构与布局优化研究

近年来,随着经济的发展与人居迁转,城镇建设用地紧张,而乡村建设用地闲置。如何充分利用土地资源,是当今社会所关注的焦点。以安泽县为例,在充分调查和收集资料的基础上,分析了其城乡建设用地的特点及存在的主要问题,提出了城乡建设用地布局调整方案及如何优化城乡建设用地结构和布局的对策。     

英国乡村发展政策和措施对中国实现乡村振兴的启示

乡村振兴已经纳入中国的发展战略,深入剖析英国推进城乡共同发展和富裕中的经验,可为解决中国乡村振兴所面临的问题提供借鉴。该研究以英格兰为案例,深入探讨英国在社会和经济发展和转型进程中为解决乡村发展、推动城乡生产要素的流动、以及空间的合理布局,实现农村和农业的可持续发展的政策和具体措施,并结合中国国情,提出推进乡村振兴发展的可行性建议。在推进城乡共同发展的过程中,英国制定的四项乡村政策对中国乡村振兴具有参考意义：1）以生态保护为核心;2）城乡平等为基础;3）乡镇振兴为空间枢纽;4）多元经济为导向和可持续农业为目标的系统性政策和措施。建议中国在推动乡村振兴发展中,应当：1）构建可持续的消费与生产模式;2）以乡镇的集约发展为枢纽空间,在严格保护乡村生态环境的同时促进多样化发展;3）解决乡村人才短缺问题,实现内生性发展。研究可为中国城乡协调发展,解决乡村振兴政策所面临的问题提供参考。     

资源匮乏地区农村能源可持续发展模式探讨

以辽宁省阜新市为例，探讨了资源枯竭型地区经济发展面临的主要问题，系统总结和分析了资源枯竭型地区农村能源建设的主要模式和做法，提出了资源枯竭型地区农村能源可持续发展对策。     

基于生态位模型的岷江上游典型县域乡村聚落用地适宜性评价

乡村聚落用地适宜性研究不仅有利于揭示人类活动与生态环境、社会经济之间的匹配程度,亦能为乡村聚落重构及国土空间优化提供科学依据.该研究基于乡村地理学、景观生态学及生态位理论方法,以岷江上游典型县域理县为研究区,采用遥感影像、社会经济统计、土地利用现状等多源数据,通过景观格局分析、数理统计分析、GIS空间分析等技术手段,首...     

桐乡市乡镇耕地整理对耕地景观格局的影响及其分析

以桐乡市4个乡镇为研究对象,结合航空遥感和地理信息技术,在ArcGIS 8.3和ERDAS 8.6软件的支持下,通过数字矢量化、外业实地调查、地物调绘和核查以及室内补测的程序建立耕地景观图层数据库。在此基础上,运用景观格局指数：景观破碎度、分离度、形状指数和斑块分形维数对耕地整理前后的景观格局特征及其动态变化进行研究和分析。根据计算结果：整理后4个乡镇耕地景观的形状指数和分形维数都呈下降趋势,并且后者趋近于1,表明耕地景观的斑块形状越趋简单并越有规律;景观分离度减小,景观破碎度升高,斑块密度增大,而平均斑块面积却减小,这说明在目前耕地整理的初级阶段,不适当的耕地整理方式和方法使得耕地景观的分割、破碎程度加剧,孤立的嵌块体数量增加,将会影响农田生态系统的稳定性。因此,在开展耕地整理时,必须遵循可持续发展的基本原理,必须注重景观生态环境的保护,使之趋向生态环境保育型土地整理方向发展。     

Mini Nutritional Assessment of rural elderly people in Bangladesh: the impact of demographic, socio-economic and health factors

OBJECTIVE: In stating the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations aims to halve malnutrition around the world by 2015. Nutritional status of the elderly population in low-income countries is seldom focused upon. The present study aimed to evaluate the magnitude of malnutrition among an elderly population in rural Bangladesh. DESIGN AND SETTING: Data collection for a multidimensional cross-sectional study of community-based elderly people aged 60 years and over was conducted in a rural area in Bangladesh. SUBJECTS: Of 850 randomly selected elderly individuals, 625 participated in home interviews. Complete nutritional information was available for 457 individuals (mean age 69+/-8 years, 55% female). Nutritional status was assessed using an adapted form of the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) including body mass index (BMI). Age, sex, education, household expenditure on food and self-reported health problems were investigated as potential predictors of nutritional status. RESULTS: BMI<18.5 kg m(-2), indicating chronic energy deficiency, was found in 50% of the population. MNA revealed a prevalence of 26% for protein-energy malnutrition and 62% for risk of malnutrition. Health problems rather than age had a negative impact on nutritional status. Level of education and food expenditure were directly associated with nutritional status. CONCLUSION: In order to reduce world hunger by half in the coming decade, it is important to recognise that a substantial proportion of the elderly population, particularly in low-income countries, is undernourished.     

乡镇企业废水的综合再利用计划和湿地战略: 实例研究

A waste water reuse engineering was designed and then operated in Hongshan,a small town in Zhejiang Province,China,in order to solve pollution and shortage of water resources due to the development of rural enterprises.The results showed that series-structure design and cycling model were two effective modes of saving water and decreasing pollutants into environment,and wetland strategy should be a component part of the integrated planning for waste water reuse of rural enterprises.This case study could provide a basis for the optimum utilization and pollution avoidance of water resources.     

Food poverty and health among schoolchildren in Ireland: findings from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationships between food poverty and food consumption, health and life satisfaction among schoolchildren. DESIGN: Analysis of the 2002 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, a cross-sectional survey that employs a self-completion questionnaire in a nationally representative random sample of school classrooms in the Republic of Ireland. SUBJECTS: A total of 8424 schoolchildren (aged 10-17 years) from 176 schools, with an 83% response rate from children. RESULTS: Food poverty was found to be similarly distributed among the three social classes (15.3% in the lower social classes, 15.9% in the middle social classes and 14.8% in the higher social classes). It was also found that schoolchildren reporting food poverty are less likely to eat fruits, vegetables and brown bread, odds ratio (OR) from 0.66 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.45-0.87) to 0.81 (95% CI 0.63-0.99); more likely to eat crisps, fried potatoes and hamburgers, OR from 1.20 (95% CI 1.00-1.40) to 1.62 (95% CI 1.39-1.85); and more likely to miss breakfast on weekdays, OR from 1.29 (95% CI 0.33-1.59) to 1.72 (95% CI 1.50-1.95). The risk of somatic and mental symptoms is also increased, OR from 1.48 (95% CI 1.18-1.78) to 2.57 (95% CI 2.33-2.81); as are negative health perceptions, OR from 0.63 (95% CI 0.43-0.83) to 0.52 (95% CI 0.28-0.76) and measures of life dissatisfaction, OR from 1.88 (95% CI 1.64-2.12) to 2.25 (95% CI 2.05-2.45). Similar results were found for life dissatisfaction in an international comparison of 32 countries. All analyses were adjusted for age and social class. CONCLUSIONS: Food poverty in schoolchildren is not restricted to those from lower social class families, is associated with a substantial risk to physical and mental health and well-being, and requires the increased attention of policy makers and practitioners.     

Farm health surveillance in the Marshfield Epidemiologic Study Area: a pilot study

Surveillance of agricultural work-related illness and non-fatal injuries is limited and considered to be a major gap in prevention and policy-making capacity. This pilot study evaluated the utility of the Marshfield Epidemiologic Study Area (MESA) and its farm residency cohort to identify and monitor potential priorities for prevention and control. MESA is a defined geographic region that serves as a resource for conducting population-based health research. Nearly all of the residents receive their health care from the Marshfield Clinic and affiliated hospitals, providing archived electronic medical information to characterize past and present diagnoses. Based on scientific literature and national research priorities, five broad health issues (injuries, back problems, hearing loss, respiratory conditions, and dermatologic conditions) were selected. To estimate age-specific and age-adjusted incidence and prevalence, we followed a fixed cohort of 1995 MESA residents through 2002. Standardized incidence ratios and standardized prevalence ratios were also estimated to quantify the potential impact of farm residency. Linking MESA, its farm residency cohort, and the clinic's data archives allowed successful identification of significant associations with agricultural exposure for a few conditions and subconditions related to consensus priorities in agricultural health, particularly among men. These included extrinsic alveolitis, organic dust toxic syndrome, back pain, osteoarthrosis, and certain injuries. However, the system was generally not able to demonstrate strong influence of farm residency on disease occurrence for many conditions specifically selected for their likely capacity to show such influence. Future surveillance systems should supplement clinical data with other sources of information on health events and should be adequately powered to focus on narrower ranges of health conditions.     

黄土丘陵区农村道路的布局特征分析——以燕沟流域为例

农村道路承担了农村农业生产和社会经济活动双重任务,合理配置道路密度对促进农村经济、减少水土流失意义重大.以黄土丘陵区的燕沟流域为对象,利用ARCGIS软件及统计分析方法,对流域的村庄、土地利用类型和路网的关系进行空间分析,得出:1)燕沟流域道路密度平均值为3.73 km/km2,其中耕地为5.25 km/km2,果园为...     

县域农业资源利用的流向性探析——以安徽省国家级贫困县阜南县为例

采用灰色关联度方法研究安徽省阜南县农业资金、劳动力及技术进步率在各业的流向结果表明,渔业资金的边际效益最大,畜牧业为劳动力边际产值最大的行业,技术进步迫切解决的问题是农业技术进步率;若稳步提高农业总产值,有限资金需向林业流动,剩余劳动力需向畜牧业转移,技术进步需注重提高种植业技术进步率     

Implications of municipal wastewater irrigation on soil health from a study in Bangladesh

This study evaluated soil health in fields of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv Shatabdi) and potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) irrigated by different blends of municipal wastewater (hereafter called wastewater). The crops were grown with and without added fertilizers over three consecutive years. The wastewater contained high concentrations of organic carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulphur (S), zinc (Zn) and boron (B). It also contained negligible concentrations of a few heavy metals. Irrigation by wastewater resulted in an increase in the porosity of the surface soil and thus a reduced bulk density. Wastewater enhanced the saturated hydraulic conductivity and water retention capacity of the soils. The organic carbon, total N, available P and S, and exchangeable Na, K, Ca and Mg of the soils increased proportionately with the quantity of applied wastewater. C, N and K increased significantly (α = 0.05) when fields were irrigated using raw wastewater after applied fertilizers; the other elements accumulated in the soil insignificantly under both fertility levels. Electrical conductivity (EC) and pH of the upper 0–20 and 20–40 cm soil layers increased with the application of wastewater; the increase was significant only under raw wastewater irrigation. In the 40–60 cm soil layer, both EC and pH remained unchanged. The applied inorganic fertilizers raised EC but reduced soil pH. The wastewater contained large counts of total coliform (TC: 17.2 × 10⁶ cfu/100 mL) and faecal coliform (FC: 13.4 × 10³ cfu/100 mL). Irrigation using municipal wastewater is proposed for improving soil fertility as well as for alleviating water scarcity with the exception of some crops whose edible parts come in direct contact with wastewater and/or are eaten uncooked.     

Heavy metals in the lichen Caloplaca aurantia from urban,suburban and rural regions in Israel (a comparative study)

The content of eight heavy metals: Mn, Zn, Fe, Pb, Ni, Cu, Cr and Cd in the lichen Caloplaca aurantia growing on roof-tiles in urban, suburban and rural settlements in Israel has been evaluated. The data obtained and their statistical analysis indicated the following: (1) The content of all the above listed metals was generally higher in the lichen growing in ‘town’ than in ‘village’ areas; among these metals Ni and Zn were found most suitable for the distinction between ‘town’ and ‘village’ settlements. (2) Comparisons of the coefficient of variation of metal content values in ‘town’ versus ‘village’ furnished indications on the dispersion capacity of the metal particles. (3) Correlation analysis among the metals in ‘town’ and ‘village’ resulted in suggestive information on the emission sources. (4) Leaching tests indicated the tenacity of metal retainment and incorporation efficiency into the lichen tissue. Lichen species like C. aurantia, which grow both in ‘clean’ and metal contaminated areas are suggested as comparative monitors and for assessing periodical changes in metal output and concentrations.